Romania’s economic prospects in 2018 for industries are nebulous. Company decision makers are reserved and macroeconomic data confirm the investment rebound for the companies in Romania. Most top executives say that the minimum wage rise affects profitability, and the confidence that 2018 will be more favorable for business than 2017 is at extremely low rates. This seems to be the perception of the 475 decision makers in Romanian companies who answered to the questionnaire of the Business Evolution in 2018 survey conducted by consultancy firm Valoria.

Taking into account the indicators such as turnover, profit, investment or growth in salaries and the number of employees, we present the results highlighted by this study for the following industries: agriculture and food, construction and real estate, wholesale and retail trade, information technology (IT), industrial production, and professional services.

The IT industry expects the largest decline in turnover in 2018

Just 24% of the construction companies, down from 33% in the previous year expect a turnover growth level of +5% -+10% in 2018 and 33% down from 22% expect a sales growth by+10% – +20% compared to 2017. In 2018, only 16% of the agricultural companies say they will increase their turnover by +1% – +5% compared to 40% last year and only 22% say they will increase their turnover by +5% – +10%, compared to 40% in 2017. In industrial production, 17% of companies say they expect increases by +1% – +5% and 20% by+10% – +20%. The IT industry has the largest decline of the six industries, with 24% of companies expecting negative turnovers this year. In trade, 39% of companies compared to 43% previously estimate increases by +10% – +30% of sales, and in the professional services industry only 26% of companies compared to 54% in 2017 see increases by +10% – +30% this year.